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Global monthly sea surface nitrate fields estimated from remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, and modeled mixed layer depth
Author(s) -
Arteaga Lionel,
Pahlow Markus,
Oschlies Andreas
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl062937
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , environmental science , mixed layer , sea surface temperature , nitrate , ocean color , satellite , biogeochemistry , ocean chemistry , chlorophyll a , oceanography , temporal resolution , climatology , geology , seawater , ecology , botany , physics , aerospace engineering , engineering , biology , quantum mechanics
Information about oceanic nitrate is crucial for making inferences about marine biological production and the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. While there are no optical properties that allow direct estimation of inorganic nitrogen, its correlation with other biogeochemical variables may permit its inference from satellite data. Here we report a new method for estimating monthly mean surface nitrate concentrations employing local multiple linear regressions on a global 1° by 1° resolution grid, using satellite‐derived sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, and modeled mixed layer depth. Our method is able to reproduce the interannual variability of independent in situ nitrate observations at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series, the Hawaii Ocean Time series, the California coast, and the southern New Zealand region. Our new method is shown to be more accurate than previous algorithms and thus can provide improved information on temporal and spatial nutrient variations beyond the climatological mean at regional and global scales.